The purpose of the annual Central European Energy Conference (CEEC) is to discuss and assess topical issues relating to energy security and climate policy in Central Europe in the context of EU policy development and implementation. The CEEC conference has two ambitions: first, to bring together leadingstakeholders from Central Europe’s energy sector, and second, to help find better energy and climate policy solutions for the whole of the EU with a more proactive and engaged role for Central Europe.

This 17^th CEEC will confront the challenges facing the energy sector in the upcoming years. The commitment to reach climate neutrality by 2050 has been challenged by a new geopolitical and geo-economic reality causing uncertainty over the near-term stability of energy supplies and resiliency of energy networks, leading to energy market upheaval and exposing European consumers and industry to extremely high energy prices. The need to immediately decouple from Russian fossil fuels has accentuated the need to accelerate the green transition not only to reach new more ambitious EU climate targets but to fortify energy independence, through new policy initiatives. The conference will discuss the pertinent of the day – namely European energy crisis response measures, energy market reform proposals, and the green recovery of Ukraine – along with the persistent, underlying issues of financing the green transition, low-carbon mobility, along with security of nuclear and natural gas supply.